


Second Year

by RunawayCaboose



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Autistic Data (Star Trek), Canon Non-Binary Character, Eating Disorders, M/M, Non-binary Data, Non-binary character, Recreational Drug Use, Self-Harm, Trans man Geordi, transgender character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:53:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24479770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RunawayCaboose/pseuds/RunawayCaboose
Summary: Data doesn't really feel like anyone understands him. Being non-binary in a world where everything is so binary, it's strange and alienating. But then again he's never really tried to make anyone understand him. So what happens when he meets someone who does?
Relationships: Data/Geordi La Forge
Comments: 6
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> don't read if you're triggered by selfharm or eating disorders <3

Data stood at the snack table of his college’s trans support group, looking at the cookies and chips and coffee dispensers. The meeting was about to start, he almost got here late, and he didn’t know anyone, so he was just standing at the snack table for as long as he could. He filled a styrofoam cup up with coffee, ripped open some sugar packets, and poured in some of those shelf stable vanilla creamers, the kind they have out on the table at Waffle House.  
“Hey, I know you, right?” Came a voice from beside him. Data turned to see a black guy, shorter than him, wearing one of those new visors he’d heard about. “I know these things are supposed to be anonymous so if you don’t want to talk, we don’t have to, I just don’t know anybody here.”  
“Uh, no, I do not mind talking. I do not know anyone here either.” Data answered. “I do not think we know each other though.”  
“Maybe not know know each other, but I sit behind you in the Strength of Materials engineering course. I’m Geordi.” Geordi stuck out his hand, but Data didn’t take it, and he put it back down, unoffended.  
“Geordi. I have heard that name before.” Data took a sip of his coffee.  
“Is the coffee worth getting any?” Geordi asked. “The stuff in the dining hall is so bad. I’m  
having such a hard time with shitty coffee.”  
“No, this is very bad.” Data answered. “I would not recommend it.”  
“Dang, I guess I’ll just stick with cookies. You think they wouldn’t skimp on food or drinks for an oppressed minority, but they totally do.” Geordi grabbed a handful of cookies from a platter. “You haven’t given me your name. Like, you don’t have to if you don’t want to, though.”  
“Oh, it is Data, my name is Data.” Data said.  
“Cool name, pick it yourself?” Geordi joked.  
“Yes, I did. It was the best name I could think of.” Data answered.  
“I don’t really know you, but it probably suits you. This lady is about to get mad at us, she’s totally glaring at us, we should go sit down.” Geordi led Data to the last few empty chairs and they sat down next to each other. The lady Geordi had referred to introduced herself as the meeting leader.  
“Is there anybody who would like to start us off?” She asked, before turning the conversation over to one of the students.  
It went on like that for a while, just a couple of students sharing what was going on with them and other people commenting. Data thought it was pretty boring, honestly, he didn’t really know why he came. Geordi tried to offer him a cookie a few times, but he shook his head. It was nice of Geordi at least. Eventually the conversation slowed and people stopped volunteering information. The lady looked around the circle, looking for another person to speak.  
“What about you? It’s Data, right?” She asked. Data shrugged. He didn’t really want to speak, but he didn’t really have a problem with it either.  
“I am okay.” He started. “I have been getting mad lately, I think, at how I have to live. Being non-binary in a binary world. It feels like nothing is made for me, and when I tell people I am non-binary they do not take me seriously, or they are over supportive and make it weird. I have not met anyone yet who just understood me, all I am looking for is someone that understands me. But that is hard, apparently, a hard thing to ask for. I do not know if I’ll ever really find it. I am tired of looking for it in the people I meet.” Everybody just kind of nodded, but nobody said anything in response, and the lady moved on.  
“Do you have anything to say?” She asked Geordi.  
“No, I’m just listening.” He answered. She moved on again.  
It took about thirty more minutes for the meeting to wrap up, and by that time Data had finished his coffee and started biting into the styrofoam of his cup. As he stood up to throw it away, Geordi followed him.  
“Dude, this meeting sucked.” Geordi laughed. “Do you want to go get high?” Data looked at him for a second.  
“Why?”  
“Why does anyone get high? Because it’s fun, I don’t know. Do you want to? I’m not going to make you or anything, peer pressure isn’t cool.” Geordi said. Data thought about it for a second.  
“Isn’t it illegal?” He asked.  
“Yeah, but it shouldn’t be.” Geordi answered. “We won’t get in trouble or anything, we won’t get caught.” Data shrugged.  
“Then yes, I suppose, I will get high with you.” He said. Geordi laughed, and they left the meeting room together, and then the building. Data was following Geordi as they walked off campus and into the woods surrounding it. It was dark, but the moon was out and Data could still see. He wondered how Geordi could see with his visor in the dark.  
“You know, I got what you said, about nobody understanding you.” Geordi said as he pushed a branch out of the way. “Like, not exactly, I’m not non-binary, but my family, they don’t really understand me. They try really hard, but I don’t feel like they ever will.”  
“Yeah.” Data took the branch from Geordi to keep it pinned forward as he walked through it. “My family does not understand. My father wants me to be something different. He treats me like I am his son now, but I have never wanted to be his son. That is not something I ever wanted. I have never told him I was his son.”  
“That must suck, I’m sorry.” Geordi apologized.  
“It’s not your fault.” Data answered. “My father conflates pronouns with gender. He understands science, not English.”  
“My parents never had a problem with me being trans, not really, they just took a while to come to terms with it, and now they think I would rather be their cis son and it’s like, no, I don’t want that.” Geordi said, and Data nodded. They came out of the woods very quickly, into an area lit with moonlight. There were the gates of a graveyard in front of them. “Well, we’re here.”  
“We’re going to get high in a graveyard?” Data asked.  
“Yeah, is that a problem? We can go somewhere else if you’re like, super spiritual.” Geordi offered. “It’s just really the closest place to campus where we won’t get caught.”  
“No,” Data shook his head. “It is okay, as long as we are not disrespectful to anything.”  
“Never am.” Geordi answered. “Come on.” And they walked into the graveyard gates. Geordi pulled out his pipe, a lighter, and a bag of weed from his pockets. “Have you ever smoked before?”  
“Once, with my brother.” Data answered. “You walk around with weed?”  
“Yeah, all the time.” Geordi answered. He lit his pipe and breathed in, before passing it and the lighter to Data. Data held the pipe in one hand and the lighter in the other, lighting it then breathing in. He coughed as the smoke hit his lungs. Geordi laughed. “It hurts, doesn’t it? When you haven’t done it a lot.”  
“Yes.” Data agreed. “It does.” He passed the pipe back to Geordi. They smoked for a while in silence before Geordi cleared his throat and spoke.  
“We should probably head back.”  
“Okay.” Data agreed. They walked back to campus together, in mostly silence, except for a few ‘thank you’s’ when one of them held a branch for the other.  
“I’ll see you around.” Geordi said, before they split up back on campus. Data walked back to his dorm room, high, and a little out of his head. When he was high it felt like he was dissociating. It wasn’t unpleasant, it just made him feel a little off.  
He swiped his keycard at the door to his dormitory and headed up the stairs to his room. He unlocked his door with his keys. His roommate, Jadzia, was there at her desk, studying. She looked up when he came in.  
“Hey.” She greeted him. “How was the meeting?”  
“Fine.” He answered. “Boring. I met somebody.”  
“Glad I was too busy to go then.” She smiled. “Are they nice?”  
“Yeah, he is nice.” Data sat down on his bed and looked at his hands. “We went to a graveyard and we got high.” Jadzia laughed.  
“Maybe I should’ve gone then. I didn’t really peg you as the type of person to do drugs.” She said.  
“Me neither.” Data admitted. “I only have once before.”  
“If you want to you can hang out with me and Worf when we smoke.” Jadzia offered.  
“Maybe.” Data answered. “Thank you.”  
“Was it helpful, at least?” She asked. “The meeting, not getting high.”  
“Not really.” Data said. “They had bad coffee.”  
“That’s too bad. I’m going to be studying for a while longer.”  
“I’m going to go to bed.” Data got up from his bed and grabbed his toothbrush from his desk. “I’ll be back in a minute.” He headed out of his room to one of the bathrooms down the hall. He looked at himself in the mirror for a minute, his slight frame, his chest still visible under his hoodie and shirt. He pulled a face, turning to the side and examining himself in profile. He turned back, and pulled up his shirt and hoodie, looking at the scars and healing cuts on his stomach. He made another face. He knew, logically, that self harming didn’t help him, and really only made his mental health worse, and he also knew, logically, that the fact that he couldn’t stop meant it was an addiction. But, emotionally, he didn’t really care about either of those things. He sighed, took his phone from his pocket, took off the case, and retrieved the razor blade he kept there.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't read if you're triggered by self harm or eating disorders <3

Jadzia had already left to eat with her boyfriend, Worf, when Data got out of bed the next day. He almost preferred it when that happened, although he felt bad about it, because he could change in their room without anyone seeing him, and he didn’t have to eat with anyone so he could eat as little as he wanted. He pulled off his shirt and shorts, ran his hands over the cuts on his stomach, wincing as it stung. He put on a tight sports bra, a new shirt, a pair of jeans, and threw his pajamas on his bed. He grabbed his phone and the same hoodie he had on yesterday and headed out the door.  
The dining hall was just a few floors down from his dorm room, which he appreciated. There were plenty of students already inside and eating as he entered and showed his student ID. He walked to the serving area and got himself a small bowl of yogurt and a clementine. He was on his way to sit in one of the back corners of the dining hall when he heard someone call his name.  
“Data!” He looked to his side and Geordi was waving him over to a table in the center of the room. Data hesitated for a moment, but walked over to him. Geordi smiled at him. “Hey, you sleep well?”  
“Fine.” He set his bowl and clementine at the seat across from Geordi and sat down. “Did you?”  
“Yeah, pretty well.” Geordi smiled at him. Geordi had a large plate of pancakes and bacon, and looking at it was making Data a little nauseous. He tried to keep his attention on Geordi’s face. “You know, I’m surprised we’ve never talked before.”  
“I do not talk to very many people.” Data admitted. “Mainly my roommate and her boyfriend.”  
“Well, hey, let’s get you out of your shell a little bit. There’s nothing wrong with being shy, though.” Geordi said.  
“I do not think I am shy.” Data replied. “I just have not met very many people who wanted to talk to me. Most people find me strange. I am autistic.”  
“I don’t find you strange.” Geordi said. “Maybe a little bit, but everybody’s a little strange, aren’t they? You just don’t like to be touched, right? I noticed that last night.”  
“No, you are right, I do not.” Data took a bite of his yogurt. “I never really have.”  
“And that’s fine. I don’t like pork, can’t stand the stuff. Everybody’s got their quirks. I don’t think being autistic is what makes you strange, and the people who have said that are rude, I think.” Geordi resumed eating his pancakes and Data looked away. “Have you worked on your paper yet for Strength of Materials?”  
“Yes, I finished it last week.” Data answered as he started peeling his clementine.  
“Last week? It only got assigned last Friday!” Geordi said. Data shrugged.  
“I work quickly.” He said.  
“Why are you taking Strength of Materials?” Geordi asked. “Are you going to be a mechanical engineer?”  
“I do not know. I thought the class sounded interesting.” Data said. “I do not know what my major will be yet. I have until the end of the year to figure it out. Are you going to be a mechanical engineer?”  
“Yeah, I am.” Geordi smiled. “I wasn’t sure what kind of engineer I was going to be until I started here, but I figured it out. You said last night you had a brother, didn’t you?”  
“Yes, I did.” Data answered. “His name is Lore.”  
“Wow, you really had a strange naming convention to live up to, didn’t you?” Geordi laughed.  
“I did.” Data agreed. “What about you, do you have siblings?”  
“A sister, she’s younger than me.” Geordi replied. “What about you, are you younger or older?”  
“Lore and I are twins, but he is older than me.” Data said.  
“Twins, huh? That must be kind of weird, being trans and having a twin.”  
“It is.” Data put a segment of clementine in his mouth and made himself chew and swallow. “It is weird. I think I like Lore more than he likes me. We used to be closer than we are now.”  
“Does he go to school here?”  
“No, he does not. He goes to school closer to home. He has a complex relationship with me and my family, but I guess I do too.”  
“I think it’s normal to have a complex relationship with your family.” Geordi said. “I’ve never really met someone who had a one hundred percent good relationship with their family. I think that’s kind of a myth.”  
“Maybe it is.” Data agreed, before pulling out his phone and checking the time. “I am going to go to class now. Thank you for talking with me.”  
“Anytime, Data.” Geordi smiled at him. Data took his mostly full bowl and clementine peel to the trash where he emptied his bowl and threw away the peel before placing his bowl with the dirty dishes.  
Data left the dining hall and went back to his room to grab his backpack before making his way to his english class. He spent most of the class not really listening, zoning out and thinking. Thinking about Geordi mainly. He didn’t really talk to anyone except Jadzia, and sometimes Worf, and he hadn’t really talked to anyone when he started college last year. Jadzia would make a point to socialize with him if she noticed he was spending most of his time in their room and not going out to do anything. Maybe it would be nice, being friends with Geordi. Data could use a friend. Maybe Geordi could too. He was afraid, though, of Geordi getting too close, caring too much, and finding out everything that was wrong with him. He was afraid of that with everyone. That’s why he didn’t really have any friends. But maybe this could be good for him, maybe this could be nice. Maybe he didn’t have to be isolated all the time. Geordi seemed to understand him, at least kind of, at least enough to talk to. Maybe this would be good for both of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am COPING

**Author's Note:**

> bro i am so sorry honestly i am writing this to COPE. data's autism & gender is based off of my own, i am trans and non-binary so i'm writing from my own experience. seriously i am writing this to cope, it is definitely going to get dark, bro i am just COPING i am sorry data for doing this to you. also sorry Geordi i made you a stoner xoxo. also i know Jadzia isn't in TNG but i wanted her in here


End file.
